eBay

craigaarondurling · ‎06-05-2023

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/295468777711?hash=item44cb4fc0ef%3Ag%3AZngAAOSwonFjv%7Eh-&amdata=enc%3AAQAIA...

This listing is for a double dvd for $12.99. The dimensions are over the limit for oversized letter mail and over the 200 grams for expediated lite. The cheapest I can send this for is $12. How is this seller offering free shipping on an item like this?

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎06-05-2023

@craigaarondurling wrote:
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/295468777711?hash=item44cb4fc0ef%3Ag%3AZngAAOSwonFjv%7Eh-&amdata=enc%3AAQAIA...

This listing is for a double dvd for $12.99. The dimensions are over the limit for oversized letter mail and over the 200 grams for expediated lite. The cheapest I can send this for is $12. How is this seller offering free shipping on an item like this?

@craigaarondurling

Really all depends on what the seller paid originally for them to build into their price. As for oversized letters see attached.

-Lotz

reallynicestamps · ‎06-05-2023

And those are counter prices.

If the seller is buying discounted labels through eBay they can ship cheaper .

And I use steeply discounted postage stamps reducing my shipping costs even more.

Store subscribers get quarterly "coupons" for branded shipping supplies like bubble envelopes, again a way to reduce shipping cost.

A now retired seller was buying pallets of movies and CDs for little more than the cost of shipping them to him.

craigaarondurling · ‎06-05-2023

Thanks for the reply. the item is question is 3.5cm height, which is over the 2cm height max dimensions for Non-standard or over sized mail. I could see getting away with a little over 2 cm, but at least at my post office they wouldn't accept this.

dinomitesales · ‎06-05-2023

I can't tell the thickness of the DVD set based on the listing because they just show the one photo, but I looked up other listings to see what it looks like. This is my thought process:

The DVD set might be just at that 2 cm mark where they're willing to take the risk shipping it Lettermail in hopes that it arrives just fine (in my experience, if you apply your own stamps and drop in the mailbox, you can often send things that might be a few mm too thick and they'll get delivered just fine). They may also be comfortable shipping in just a poly mailer vs. a bubble mailer to save a few mm. (EDIT: I see you say it's 3.5 cm thick in another reply, so this is unlikely).
From other listings this appears to be a book-style DVD set. You could feasibly "open" the DVD set (like a book) so it's now half as thick, and ship it that way because the surface area is still within the length/width dimensions for Oversized Lettermail. Gets a bit tricky because it's in a slip cover, but if it's like other slip covers you might be able to unfold it and ship it flat.
This particular seller has a lot of listings, mostly media. They may have just assumed it would fit Oversized Lettermail without actually measuring it, possibly because they're rushing to get listings up as fast as possible. Or they had an employee do a "Sell Similar" on a similar listing and they didn't update the shipping cost (or just assumed it would be the same as the item they did a "Sell Similar" on). If this is the case they'll quickly realize their mistake when someone buys it and they go to pack it, and then they'll probably just take the loss and ship it as a parcel (considering the volume they do), or cancel the order.

craigaarondurling · ‎06-05-2023

Thanks for the reply. Oversized letter mail can't be order through ebay. Maybe the steeply discounted postage stamps might work.

For normal CDs/ DVDs the oversized lettermail is no prob. But the item in question is a double dvd (3cm height) putting it over the max 2cm height of over sized mail.

I mean maybe he incorrectly offered free shipping, but I've seen many other people offer free shipping on similar sized product.

craigaarondurling · ‎06-05-2023

I was mistaken with the dimensions of this one it is 2cm exactly, but with envelope would be over. I guess it could get by, as oversized, although at my post office they wouldn't allow it.

flipistics · ‎06-05-2023

@craigaarondurling wrote:
Thanks for the reply. Oversized letter mail can't be order through ebay. Maybe the steeply discounted postage stamps might work.

For normal CDs/ DVDs the oversized lettermail is no prob. But the item in question is a double dvd (3cm height) putting it over the max 2cm height of over sized mail.

I mean maybe he incorrectly offered free shipping, but I've seen many other people offer free shipping on similar sized product.

Most of these kind of things can easily be shipping lettermail. In this case, I think all you need to do is open it in half and wrap some packing paper around it to stiffen it and help protect it. If it comes in a box, almost all boxes can be collapsed flat. There's very few that are glued.

rocketscollectibles · ‎06-05-2023

He ships with lettermail. Simply. Drop in a mailbox. I notice people has a tendency to think canada post are very strict because they are when you go at the office. But they're are not THAT much when it's dropped in mailbox. I remember being anxious about almost shipping 0.1g overweight when i started selling, because of canada post employees being so strict and scaring me... As stated in another thread recently, when you drop in a mailbox, it often cost them more to ship back than accept as is. They're not that strict. They most likely won't return for 0.5cm. You need to test what's acceptable and what's not.

craigaarondurling · ‎06-06-2023

@flipisticsand @dinomitesales Thank you very much for the helpful info. Lol, I never even thought about opening the case and laying it flat, thank you very much for this idea.

@rocketscollectibles and @dinomitesales I will try out dropping it in a mailbox. Yeah I was scared that the items would be returned if they were even a little over.